Game Recap: Flyers vs. Ottawa Senators

Tonight was a rare occasion that I missed a Flyers game. Like the last game I missed – a March 3rd loss to the Florida Panthers – I’m pretty happy I didn’t witness tonight’s debacle.

The Flyers came out flat, again. They failed to dictate any type of pressure in the first period, and let the Senators grab control loosely of the game off a Chris Kelly goal midway through the first period. They were unable to execute on what was a pivotal five on three on two occasions throughout the course of the game and were also the recipients of some horrendous officiating throughout.

Say what you will about the Flyers not coming to play for the full 60 minutes, or about the inconsisent goaltending and questionable line manuevers, but it will also always hurt a team when the National Hockey League officials blatantly make calls against your team. The fact that Simon Gagne is assessed a game misconduct is an immediate, dead-on give away that your team is being shafted by officiating. Perhaps it’s not intentional that the referees appear to be so one-sided, but it’s hard to argue with the evidence (Gags penalty, goal call reversed, etc).

My game recap is going to end here because it’s hard to summarize something you didn’t see. If you have any comments on the game you’d like to share, feel free to comment below. Hopefully the Flyers can get it together for Thursday against Minnesota, although that will not be any easier as the Wild will be revving up the intensity as they too are racing for a playoff spot.